Staff unsettled by daily grind of long-distance commuting

Employees
with long journeys to work are more likely to look for new jobs, according to
research by the Recruitment Confidence Index.

It
shows that one in three employers think staff with long commutes would be
looking for new jobs.

The
survey, produced with recruitment consultancy TMP Worldwide, also found that
four in 10 employers believe the time taken to travel to work causes serious
recruitment difficulties.

Shaun
Tyson, professor of human resource management at Cranfield School of Management
which published the research, said, “Journey-to-work time and the discomfort of
travel are significant issues to the individual, both for making decisions on
job offers and the decision on whether to remain with the employer.”

A
third of 575 employers questioned said travel problems are causing people to
arrive late and exacerbate absenteeism.

To
compensate, half of all UK organisations offer recruits flexible hours and one
in 10 allow them to work from home.

If
the commute lasts more than one hour, 18 per cent of recruits have the option
of homeworking.

Only
5 per cent of employees whose journey times last less than an hour have the
option to work from home.

Most
UK firms do not offer alternative means of travel, with only 14 per cent
offering subsidised parking and seven per cent receiving travel subsidy.

Only
2 per cent provide company transport and 1 per cent actively support car pools.

In
the US, some companies offer concierge services so that executives can balance
their work and home lives.